Nancy Drew Review: The Riddle of the Broken Doll (Season 2 Episode 6)

With the weight and drama of the end of season one and the start of season two, it can be easy to forget the side of this show that’s quirky, fun, and just plain weird. Nancy Drew Season 2 Episode 6, “The Riddle of the Broken Doll,” is a nice reminder.

The episode starts after Nancy has, predictably, gotten herself in trouble again and started working off the debt in a morgue. There, she soon hears mysterious knocking and takes something from a terrifyingly creepy corpse’s mouth. What else would we expect?

We get some traditional horror tropes in the form of a young kid who seems to be a magnet for supernatural beings both good and evil. There are less traditional ones, too. Why are living room autopsies a thing and since when is Bess so comfortable with them?

The dialogue though all of this is often hilarious and intentionally absurd. The Drew Crew has become disconcertingly comfortable with the colorful aspects of their work and now spends far more time being sarcastic towards each other than afraid.

Lest we relax too much post-Aglaeca, things do turn dark when it turns out the dead body is actually a non-human entity that targets children and soon sets its sights on George’s family. Haven’t they all been through enough?

There are only one or two jump scare moments—a comparatively small number—and the most terrifying visuals of the entity are kept to a minimum. (The entity’s appearance as a dead body is another matter. I highly suggest you not watch while eating.)

The emotional stakes come about very quickly but pack a wallop when they do. Nick restrains a distraught George as the two youngest members of her family are lured away by a creature that’s already killed many innocent victims.

It’s almost impossible to make us believe the show would kill off these kid sisters, especially so soon after George’s own (very) near-death experience. Still, the visual of the previous victims dragging their killer under the earth offers both relief and satisfaction.

Then there’s the matter of George’s own experiences to deal with. Is she being haunted? Possessed? Is Odette threatening or just trapped temporary in George’s body and/or aura? Either way, we don’t get a lot to work with just yet.

I do like George getting more to do, but right now, I’d prefer a more traditional exploration of the trauma of what she went through. I’m not sure the Aglaeca plot needs to carry on, but this could change if it takes an unexpected route.

Finally, Nancy and her father are on unusually good terms through the episode; a nice but strange feeling. The whole affair of family matters isn’t even mentioned for the hour, though I have no doubt that this is only a temporary pause.

Instead, Carson first discloses the vague notion of his financial issues to his daughter before offering to hire her as an investigator. I admit that this suggests his thinking is somewhere along the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” lines, but I’m still here for it.

 

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Nancy Drew airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.

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